Beauty and the Beast
by LollipopCloudsandHoneyTyphoons
Summary: In a surprising turn of events, Karin ends up being the legendary cursed "Beast" King's yearly female offering. And to her surprise, she seems to be the only one that can actually break this dangerous curse of his. Soon, they are drawn to each other, but is it safe to fall in love with a monster like him? *M for almost all chapters leading up to lemons!*
1. Episode 1: Part 1

_Since she was little, Karin Hanazono had always watched **him** with curiosity._

_He was very small for his age, but so was she, and he probably would have towered over her if they'd ever stood close,_

_Often, she would only be walking through the village, and he was being accused of stealing something. _

_One day, she looked at him from behind a wall and saw that he was eating something from a food stand in the middle of the village. She wanted to tell the man running the stand, who of course, had his back turned, but she couldn't find her voice. She was too far away to hear, anyway._

_But, the man did turn around, and when he saw what the boy had been eating, he grabbed the boy by his silk white shirt and lifted him into the air, cursing at him and telling him it was time to pay up._

_The boy looked at him – not a trace of fear on his face- with glowing red eyes full of hunger and his lips pulled back slowly to reveal almost endless rows of canine teeth, and growled before attacking the angry man at the stand._

_Karin, being young at around age 8, was too scared to run and too scared to scream, so she watched in horror as the boy, the same age as her, devoured the man in minutes, leaving a terrible, bloody mess._

_After he was done, the boy wiped the blood dripping from his mouth, his eyes now the same red color as the blood pooling around him, and suddenly made eye contact with her._

_Karin could only gasp as his eyes widened. He didn't run at her, or try and kill her, to her surprise, he only watched her curiously, interested. _

_It was the way all of the villagers looked at her, because she had been born with a perfect face, and had been called a princess, or was known as the villages' "true face of beauty," and had always been kind, to anyone and everyone. But why was _he_ looking at her like that? _

_Then he took a step in her direction and Karin stepped away, and the boy noticed she was afraid of him and he carefully reached out a hand to her with pleading eyes, opening his mouth to say something. But then a woman had walked out of her home to find the boy standing over the corpse of the human and had let out a piercing scream._

_The villagers screamed for the boy to get away, others "warding" him off with crosses and spiritual tools and kept calling him a demon and a beast. They never got chance to touch him, however, he was gone within a blink of an eye. _

_Karin watched as the women wept and the men ran around to try and find the mysterious dark haired child, and was on the verge of tears herself. She'd never seen someone die before, her parents protected her from seeing things like that._

_And then he was behind her. Karin whirled her head around and was going to scream before he clamped his hand over her mouth and shook his head, placing a finger to his lips._

"_Shhh.." his dark red eyes stared into hers and slowly, he brought the hand down from over her mouth and her body began to tremble with fear as she pressed herself closer to the wall of the wooden house they were behind._

"_Don't hurt me.." she whispered, pleading with wide eyes, but he shook his head, surprising her yet again._

_Instead, the boy lifted her shirt over her body to look at her strange birthmark directly over her heart. It was black and shaped like a crescent moon. Her parents and everyone else thought it was odd, and were worried she'd been marked with a curse, but so far, nothing had happened, so now it was just another thing interesting about her._

_How did he know she had a birthmark? Karin wondered, but she didn't have time to answer before he dropped her shirt, looking up at her and smiling happily._

_Why was he so happy?_

"_I found you." he whispered, as if reading her mind._

_Then a villager who had been searching for Karin to make sure she was alright found her and the child and pointed a spear at him, yelling for the other villagers to come over._

_Karin stared into his red eyes once more before he disappeared into the night._

_The woman who had found them shook her, asking if she was alright, if he'd hurt her or bit her, but Karin only shook her head and the woman carried her back home to her parents._

"_Mama, what is he?" Karin asked before her mother had tucked her into bed._

"_He's a beast, sweetheart," her mother said with a grave look, "He resembles a werewolf when he transforms – you've learned about them in school remember? But he is a monster that will eat whatever it can to survive and destroys everything it touches. It's a cold-hearted creature that will kill without mercy."  
That night, all Karin could think about was the boy she'd finally met face to face that day, wondering if he'd ever come back._

_And then he did- the very next night._

_Karin had gone outside to dump some water for her mother and saw the boy walking down the village, next to a tall, monstrous werewolf, searching for something._

_So that was the kind of beast her mother was telling her about._

_A villager noticed them and ran to attack them, calling all of the men out of their homes to help. They pointed spears of fire at them and tried to kill them, but the huge werewolf lunged at them and made eye contact with the boy before lifting him atop a house, protecting him from the attacks of the villagers, and the boy continued his search._

_Karin's mother snatched her inside the house and her father ran outside to join the villagers in killing the beast, others searching for the boy- who was currently hopping atop each house and tearing it apart, trying his best to find whatever he was looking for._

_Karin's mother hid her inside the house and left._

"_I'll be back. Stay quiet."  
But her mother never came back. _

_The village caught on fire, and men who weren't surrounding the gigantic werewolf were trying to save anyone left in their homes. _

_One man came in and scooped Karin up in his arms, then ran outside. Karin struggled against him, suddenly remembering what he was searching for._

"_He's looking for me! He's looking for me!" she screamed over and over, but the man tried to ignore her._

"_Silence! You're parents have died and the village is in flames, so I will take responsibility for you! Now be quiet!"_

_Karin burst into tears, imagining her parents being torn apart from the beast and she stilled._

"_Put her down."_

_The man holding Karin turned around to see that the "beast child" had found them._

"_Get away from us, you monster!"_

"_I said, PUT HER DOWN!" the boy yelled before attacking him, causing him to drop Karin as he devoured this man in front of her as well._

_Horrified, Karin struggled to stand and began running, hearing the screams of agony coming from behind her, and then they stopped. She turned around, and the boy was reaching out to her again, with wide eyes._

"_Wait! Come back!"  
A woman escaping the fires in the village noticed Karin running and lifted her into her arms as well, running off with a few others._

_Karin, sobbing, turned to watch the boy as he disappeared from view, obviously upset that she was leaving, but why?  
The last thing she heard before the women began crossing a river, far away from the flames of the village was the howl of agony from a werewolf, followed by a child's scream, and her stomach twisted._

_He had been killed._

* * *

Karin lifted her shirt over her breasts to look at her perfect black crescent moon birthmark in the mirror and the sad memory of the boy filled her mind. That was almost 10 years ago, and both of her parents had died that night, along with hundreds of other villagers, but thankfully, they'd re-located their village – far from the pack of beasts who'd lived next to them on a huge hill.

Sighing, she dropped her shirt and splashed water in her face to try and push the thought aside. Turning around, she went to her small wardrobe to slip on a white sundress strapless sleeves and black leggings.

Stepping into her white sandals, she went over to the mirror again to run her fingers through her beautiful, dark blonde hair that she had grown all the way down to her waist, falling down in gorgeous natural curls and smiled brightly at herself in the mirror.

"Ready for a new day." she sighed, and picking up a bunch of violets she'd picked the other night, she gathered her things for work and told her aunt she was going out.

Carrying a large, empty bucket with her, Karin walked out of the house and breathed in the scent of the fresh morning air before walking down the village to the nearest lake.

A few men whistled when she walked by, others' cheeks grew red, and others waved good morning.

Beaming, Karin said hello, and skipped happily toward the lake.

Setting her things down, she filled her bucket with water and threw the flowers in. Grabbing a rock to grind the flowers in the water for dye to sell to the villager's designer, she began to hum her favorite song.

The blue color began to show in the water and Karin smiled, happy with her work.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes of the forest behind her and Karin's heart beat quickened.

Turning around, she stood up and stepped farther back.

"W-who's there?" she reached up to press a hand on her chest, grabbing a stick for protection.

The rustling ceased and there was absolute silence before someone lunged out at her.

"RAWR! RAWR, RAWR, RAWR!" Karin's best friend, Yuki, flailed his arms and bared his teeth as she let out a scream.

Realizing it was just a prank, she through the stick at the now hysterically laughing boy, infuriated.

"You jerk! Can't you go a day without having to scare me?"

Yuki pushed his black hair out of his eyes and smiled.

"Come on, Karin-chan, you know I only do it for fun, I'd never _seriously_ scare you!"  
"I'm an 18 year old, a WOMAN, Yuki, I'm in a village with lots of guys with raging hormones like you who stare at me ALL the time, I have to watch my back, you know!"

Yuki walked over to give her a hug, "You know I'd never let anything happen to you, don't you, Karin-chan?"

Karin pushed him away when he suddenly kissed her on her chin – dangerously close to her lips.

"See what I mean?! I have to watch my back – especially around my best friend."

He started laughing again, " Yeah, okay."  
"Get out of here, I need to finish with this dye so I can send it to Mrs. Luna." she sat down to continue her work.

"No way. I like watching you work. You're fun to watch." he grinned.

"Whatever. Just don't get in the way."  
Karin went back to working, then thought of the boy again. She felt very different about him now.

How come he had intended to hurt every one else except her? She'd never find out, because the poor boy had died... But, if he was alive today, would he have come back for her? Would she leave with him back to that dark castle where the king of the beasts had lived( she found out that he had been the son of the king)?

She snapped out of her thoughts when Yuki waved his hand in front of her.

"I've been calling you for minutes now, Karin-chan! Man, you get way too lost in your work."  
"Wh- what is it?" she pushed the thought aside.

"I was asking you if you remembered what today is."

"Today? It's not your birthday, is it?" she looked worried. Karin NEVER forgot birthdays, she remembered every villager's birthday, and was always sure to send them a gift, but with Yuki, he always lied about his actual birthday, just to get a present out of her, and every time she fell for it.

"Nope." Yuki smirked, but seconds later was serious, "It's the day the offering comes back and is replaced again."

Karin stopped grinding the flowers into the now violet water and looked into her friend's grave face.

"Oh, th- that's right."

The Beast King had been replaced the day the king of the beasts and his son were killed, which was very unfortunate for the villagers considering the fact that he went into heat on certain days in the year, and had finally made a contract with the villagers saying that he wouldn't harm their village if they sent him a woman for the remainder of the year. Every year, they came back, usually dressed in very pretty clothes, but marked right over their breasts with a bite just like Karin's crescent moon birthmark.

The woman that came back was replaced the following morning, and most of them were virgins- the king preferred them.

As far as she knew, Karin was probably the last virgin in the village, which scared her, but every one was very kind and would never make Karin go, considering the fact that the Beast King's kind had killed her parents and destroyed their village – how could she have sex with someone like that?

Most of her friends were the ones that went, and when they came back, they told her they had sex with him and were usually calm about it, they never cried to her like she thought they would.

"He's really scary, but never that rough.. oh, and he's very talented with his hands... **giggle. **But sometimes, I can't help but think he's lonely and hoping for someone else." Karin's friend Marie, the offering that had come back 2 years ago had told her.

"You shouldn't be worried." Yuki said when Karin shivered. "I'd never let you go to someone like him. I don't think he has any respect for women whatsoever."  
Karin smiled sadly, even though she knew it was probable that in the future, she'd be the offering.

Maybe it was today, who knew?

* * *

_**That night.**_

Men started a fire in the center of the village and set down logs for the women who wanted to speak to the latest offering, named Julie, tonight.

Karin took her spot on the log and soon, all of the seats were filled.

A dark chariot pulled up, being led by black stallions with wild golden eyes and when it stopped, Juliet stepped out, carrying her luggage, and the carriage disappeared into the darkness.

Karin ran to hug her friend, who seemed happy to see her.  
"Did you miss me that much?" Juliet asked, pulling away to look at her beautiful friend. "You seem to get prettier every year, I swear."

Karin blushed, "Come on, sit down."  
Juliet told all of the women her story, actually smiling as she did so.

A few hours later, Juliet had finished her story. Karin was very tired and wanted to go home to rest, but it was time to choose the next offering.

"Here are the Beast King's requests out of the next offering." Juliet was a little solemn as she handed the village women a scroll.

A woman with short blond hair red aloud, "_The __**prettiest **__woman in the village. A virgin, if you please."_

All eyes turned to Karin and her stomach dropped as the village women began to whisper, some protesting.

"Are we really going to send Karin-chan out there?!"  
"But we have to have an offering, or he'll come to the village."  
"This is outrageous! There are really no women left?"

"Do you think he'll take boys?"

"It's unfair! Most of us are already married! Karin really_ is _the last virgin."

"We can't let Karin go!" one of her friends stood up from the log she was sitting on. "She may be the only one that hasn't gone to him yet, but... it's just seems unfair."

"Stop." Karin held up a hand and they all silenced. Lowering her head, she said loud enough for them all to hear, "I'll be saving everyone from being killed if I go... so.." she took a deep breath, "I will." It wasn't fair to the villagers if she was the only one they were going to protect. She could stand up for herself, she didn't need babying. She was a woman, too!  
"No, you won't!"

"Don't go, beauty!"

"Come on, you don't have to do this!"

"I'm not letting you go!" all eyes turned to see Yuki, who had slipped out of his house to join into the conversation, probably to find out who the next offering was.

"Y-Yuki.." Karin started.

Suddenly, the girl who had read the scroll out loud had stood up.

"I'll go, then!" everyone gasped and turned to look at her. "I'm not a virgin, but I don't want any one to suffer or argue anymore, so I'll just go!"

Yuki dragged Karin away before she could protest that she'd go instead, and pinned her to the back of a house, far away from the women, who were preparing to go home.

"Yuki, let me go, before she does!"

"No! I'm not letting you go to that filthy asshole's castle. I'm not letting his filthy hands touch you! I'm not letting any of that happen, Karin-chan!" he leaned into kiss her and Karin flushed and brought her hand up to block him.

"I'm sorry, Yuki... I... I'll stay."

Yuki's golden eyes softened and he leaned in again to hug her instead.

"I.. I'm sorry for that just now... you know I care for you."  
Karin reached up to hug him, "Yes, I know."

* * *

Karin tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. The woman, named Ushiro, had already packed her things and was on her way to the castle while she was safe and sound at home.

It just... didn't feel right to let her go when _she_ was the only one left in the village.

She sat upin bed and sighed. Thinking harder about this, she finally made the decision and turned to her bedside to stand up.

She took a deep breath before grabbing her suitcase and stuffing all of her belongings in it. After that, she snuck into the kitchen, hoping not to wake her aunt.

Leaving her feet bare so it was easier to sneak around, she walked back to her room.

Karin put a few slices of bread and some fruit into a basket so she could eat on the way, and, dressing in a short black dress with long sleeves which she hoped was attractive, she put on a glistening red hood and closed the door behind her.

Her luggage was heavy, but she gritted her teeth through it and ran off toward the castle, saying goodbye to her Yuki.

* * *

_**A few hours later..**_

Where was that carriage? Karin staggered deeper into the forest that blocked off the castle from the village, but she couldn't find the carriage at all... Her feet were starting to hurt and she immediately regretted her stupid decision to walk around barefooted.

The carriage finally came into view after she was taking a sip of water, and excited, she wiped her mouth and darted over to the dark carriage, where the stallions were walking slowly, and opened the door. There was Ushiro, staring out of the window longingly. When she felt the cold draft of the window being open, she turned her head and gasped when she saw that Karin had jumped into the carriage.

"Karin?! What are you doing-"  
"Get out, Ushiro! I'm going instead!" Karin stared at her seriously. Ushiro shook her head.

"No, Karin, I've made this decision, it's alright, I'll go instead."

Gritting her teeth again, Karin climbed further into the carriage, and grabbing Ushiro's arm, she pulled.

Ushiro was much stronger than her and snatched her arm back without struggling against her grip.

Instead, Karin reached down and tossed Ushiro's luggage out of the carriage.

Ushiro gasped and jumped up, "My teddy bear's in there!" before she could jump out of the carriage and run after it, she looked seriously at Karin.

"Tell Yuki it was my decision, please, Ushiro." Karin whispered.

Ushiro bit her lip and nodded, "Goodbye."

When she jumped out and safely landed, the carriage suddenly picked up speed, almost knocking Karin out of the seat.

"Is that her?"

"Her scent is different from most girls."

"But why?"  
"Is she the one the Beast King was hoping for?"

"Maybe it is! We must get her there immediately."  
Karin could only listen, confused at the excited and cautious booming voices coming from outside and was shocked to realize they were coming from the dark stallions pulling the coach.

Where they talking about her?

"Faster, boys!"

The outside of the carriage was only a blur now as the stallions obeyed one's command and she screamed as the horses jumped into the air. She gripped her seat to keep from floating and her eyes darted from the outside of the door to see that the horses hadn't jumped, the carriage was floating over a cliff, heading toward the tall dark castle.

Her heart stopped pounding when they finally landed with a _**THUD**_ back onto the ground and the wild ride turned into a more peaceful one when the stallions walked slowly down the path to the front doors.

Karin gasped at the sight in front of her – the grass surrounding the castle was perfectly cut, and a garden of white roses were arranged in a humungous crescent moon.

The moon was shining down on the castle and illuminating the castle in a glimmering blue.

She sat captivated for a moment before she came back to the real world and noticed the carriage had stop.

She struggled to swallow as her heartbeat quickened. This was it.

Was he going to greet her? Was he suddenly going to lift her up in his arms and take her to his bedroom? Were they going to have sex, just like that?

Karin really didn't want to lose her virginity so quickly and be rushed in such a way... what was she going to do?

"HUMAN GIRL."

The voice of one of the dark stallions caused her to snap out of her thoughts. "Y-yes?!"

"THE KING IS WAITING FOR YOU. I'D ADVISE YOU NOT TO MAKE HIM WAIT."

Karin didn't have to be told twice. Grabbing her luggage and her basket, she hopped out of the carriage, gently landing on quiet feet.

Taking a deep breath, Karin walked across the humungous lawn surrounding the castle, watching where her feet stepped. She didn't want to track mud onto the floors.

She walked up the steps, to the castle, feeling the eyes of the stallions on her back.

On the last step, the platform led to the door.

She sucked in a breath. If she went into the doors, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to come back out.

She jumped when the stallions let out whinnies and disappeared from view, taking the carriage with them.

When she turned around , they were of course, gone. Just like that. Was it part of the magic this cursed King was born with? Shaking the thought away, she took one last deep breath before bravely walking through the doors.

She couldn't hold back the surprised gasp as she walked into the castle – partly because of how cold the marble floor was under her feet, but the other was at how gorgeous this place was.

Was she really going to LIVE here?

The floor was covered in porcelain white marble, and a statue of a crescent moon was placed in the center. Looking around, she saw that the stairs were almost endless curls around each other as they stretched up to the second floor.. and then the third floor, and the fourth...

She wondered which one the King lived on.

Speaking of that.. where was he?

She walked around , looking for him. "Uh... y- your highness...?!" she called, and blinked as her voice echoed over and over throughout the perfectly built castle.

"W-wow.." she said under her breath. That was actually somewhat... fun.

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Karin shut her eyes as she yelled, "YAAAAHHHHH!"

Over and over, it echoed, and she felt her lips curl in a smirk. Sucking in her breath, she yelled again.

Smiling to herself, she began her walk up the steps and continued her search for the King, but he was no where to be found. She felt like she'd searched for hours before someone's voice echoed through the castle, making her yelp.

"So, you're my new offering, huh?"  
She had to lean her head back far to see that the voice belonged to the man that was now staring down at her from the 5th floor of the castle.

Was it him?

Gesturing with a hand, he said loudly, "Come. I'd like to see you."  
Karin's heart beat quickened again as she turned to walk up the stairs to the next 3 floors.

"Come on. I hate waiting." his voice echoed again, making her jump as she quickened her pace up the stairs.

"I- I'm sorry.." she said loud enough for him to hear and she moved quicker. Her bare feet had suddenly gotten very interesting as she got to the same floor as him, and she kept her head down.

There was a long sigh before Karin was suddenly lifted into the air and she gasped, flailing her arms as she was pulled toward him. Was this some kind of magic?

Her feet touched the floor again, but she was still being pulled, and was now painfully somersaulting across the ground, screaming.

Finally, she stopped, and the world came into focus. Now on her knees, she struggled to hold her head up right to see him. She slowly looked up at his tall figure to meet his eyes.

"Ah!" Her eyes widened with shock, surprise, terror, and a little bit of marveling as she studied his _very_ familiar face. Backing up against the wall, she stared into his bright red eyes of eternal red flames and felt heart skip a beat.

The man in front of her was about her age, surprisingly gorgeous, and had long, shiny black hair that was pulled into a thick braid behind him, falling at his waist.

Clothing his tall figure were a pair of dark red pants and a long black robe that at the moment was unbuttoned, revealing the most gorgeous upper body muscles Karin had every seen.

Sure, she'd seen a lot of men naked from the waist up, considering the fact that more than half of the people in her village were male, but never muscles that were this beautiful. On his arms were strange, golden cuff like bands, and his skin practically glowed and was as pure white as the floors.

In more than one way, he was a god.

His eternal red flames for eyes roamed her body, looking her up and down.

"Hmm..." he smiled, "You're dressed similar to Red Riding Hood. I've met her before... she's very..." he searched for the word in his mind, "... obnoxious."  
Karin blinked. Why were those eyes so familiar?! She couldn't quite place where she'd seen them before.

"Who... who _are_ you?" she asked, staring up at him, her eyes still wide.

His lips curled into a smile, "The Beast King Kazune, of course. Who else?"  
King Kazune looked her up and down, "My, you really _are_ the prettiest one in the village. I've never seen such curves." his eyes rested on her chest and she felt the urge to cover up, feeling naked under his gaze.

Before she could speak, he'd bent down and got on his knees himself to match her height.

Karin felt her body trembling in fear, knowing they would be just minutes away from something very intimate...

"Uh... um, w-wait-"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips, shaking his head slightly and staring deeply into her eyes.

Time seemed to stop.

Where had she remembered this?

Oh, yes it was.. just like... _him_. The boy she'd watched curiously as a child. The beast child who'd killed most of the people in her village, including her family. The boy who was searching for her on that terrible day..

The beast child who'd been killed by the villagers in her own village.

Her heart ached again for him, but then pounded again in surprised when the Beast King placed a hand on her chest, tracing circles.

His touch scent shiver down her body and she let out a gasp as it moved lower.

No one had ever made her feel so weird just by a light touch..

"Ah!" his hand moved down to suddenly cup her right breast through the cloth of her dress and she felt her back arch slightly as she tilted her head, staring up at the ceiling.

"Don't hurt me.." she whispered, afraid again, but was only able to focus on the spot his hand was touching. He shook his head slightly, just like _**he**_did.

The young king's hand slipped from her mouth and she let out another gasp when it cupped her other breast.

There was a light, warm kiss on her chest, just above the birthmark under her clothes, and then her dress was being pulled down.

She stiffened as her breasts were revealed to him, but when his movements stopped and he just continued to stare at her, she looked down at him.

Hearing him suck in a breath, she stared down at him. He was looking at her birthmark with shocked, wide, red eyes.

"It... it's y- you...!" he looked at her crescent moon mark over and over again, and she wondered what he meant.

He stared up into her eyes... Then, without a word, crushed his lips to hers. It was Karin's first kiss. It was sweet, and made her body feel warm and her heart went crazy.

She hadn't even realized she'd needed air until he pulled away.

Her eyes opened to stare into his and she gasped. Now she knew where those eyes were from.

The lips she's just been kissed by parted so the King could speak again.

"I found you again."

* * *

**Sorry, I was being stupid and decided to just keep the chapters as they were before, I'm sorry! :(**


	2. Episode 1: Part 2

"_I found you again."  
_As the words echoed through Karin's head, the King who had just said those words' heart had practically leaped. The crescent moon birthmark was in between those beautiful breasts of hers, just like it was when they were younger.

He couldn't believe he'd found her. The woman who was born just for him – the one person that was capable of breaking his curse.

"_When you find her,"_ his father had said when he was a child, just before he died, _"She will have a very sweet, natural scent. To you, she may be the person in the center of your world. You will be very protective over her, if you're considering her becoming your mate. You may be hesitant to touch her when you find her as well. She is the woman born to break your curse."_

But Kazune wasn't intending on her being his mate, or anything. He just wanted this stupid curse to be done with.

_Finally_.

After she'd been taken away from him the night he was searching for her, he thought he'd never see her again. And to think, she was sitting right here, in front of him. He smiled as he scanned her surprised expression and stared deeply into her bright forest green eyes.

"Well..." he placed a kiss on the crescent mark, making her shiver, "Say something."  
It was awhile before she did.

"Y-You- you're... you're h- him, the- you- the monster that- I thought you- You're alive!"

He bit back a smirk, "Well, of course I am." he frowned instead, "Did you all think I.."  
"Um... so... if you're him... I... uh, how to put this... I heard... something that night, and we – well, the villagers that escaped the fire thought you had been killed with your father."  
Sorrow crossed Kazune's face, but only for a moment.

"No, my pet. It was only my father who died that night." the memory made his heart ache. His father had been so happy the legendary girl to break his son's curse was near them that he'd jumped out of his bed and raced outside to the villagers with him to bring her home with them. Unfortunately for them, he was very sick and was too weak to fight of the villagers.

Karin looked sad for a moment, but he didn't want her to pity him, and ended the conversation by kissing her on her neck.

Karin stiffened, "W-what are you..."  
His breath was warm on her skin, "We should continue what we were doing earlier, don't you think? I want you even more now." This was perfect. She was his, after all. Of course he'd want to touch her, finding out who she was.

"Wait, but-" he cut her off by suddenly biting her neck, and he heard her yelp. Karin winced as he began to suck on the small mark he'd made, pain and pleasure in the sensitive area causing heat and wetness to pool at her core.

It felt... _good._

"Mmmm, wait, ahhh." his tongue traced across the mark and one of his hands moved to grasp her hips when she began to squirm. Karin placed her hands on the young king's chest and gripped the sleeves of his robe.

The memory of the day they'd met suddenly appeared in his mind and he pulled away to look at her lust filled eyes.

"My, you've grown into a beautiful woman."  
Karin started blushing and he reached up to grab her bare breast, brushing his finger across the sensitive nub that was her nipple. She hissed and her grasp on his robe tightened before one of her hands slipped down his chest accidentally. Kazune bit back a moan, even her touch felt amazing.

He grabbed her wrist and brought it to his chest again so she could feel the rapid beating of his heart.

"Look – you've made me excited." he smirked as he brought his lips down to take her nipple into his mouth.

Karin moaned. She felt wonderful,_ everything_ he was doing. How is it he knew just about every sensitive area she had and how much it needed to be touched, softly or roughly. Kazune's robe slipped from his shoulders to reveal his chest and his hand left her wrist to grab her other breast.

She arched against the wall, unable to even think about anything as one of her hands moved to muffle her noises.

"MMmm!" one of his knees went in between her legs and rubbed her thigh dangerously close to her womanhood and she felt her arousal soak her underwear.

Kazune smiled, knowing she was aroused and she gasped when he looked up at her with a wild look in his red eyes.

"Ready for the next step?" he asked in a seductive tone. Karin didn't get a chance to answer when a woman suddenly walked down the hallway. Before them was a maid with short, snow white hair, trimmed perfectly so it curled at her jawline. She had beautiful, big, violet eyes that reminded Karin of the dye from the flowers she'd been making just yesterday. The maid had a casual, yet bored look on her face. Karin flushed at her own appearance, but the maid seemed used to this kind of thing, ignoring it almost completely. She bowed to Kazune, who looked annoyed, and then bowed to Karin.

"Your highness, would you like me to take her things to her room and get her ready for bed?"  
"I_ was _getting her ready for bed, Mizore." Kazune practically growled.

Karin slid from under him quickly, embarrassed beyond belief, and pulled her dress back over her chest, then smoothed out her hair.

Taking a bow to the maid, she said, "My name is Karin. I live in the Hanazono village and I'm 18 years old. It's nice to meet you, please take care of me."  
The maid curtsied with a somewhat satisfied smile, "It's nice to meet you, Miss Karin."  
Kazune glared at the both of them and Mizore took Karin's luggage. "Mizore, we were just about to-" Kazune was cut off when Mizore shook her head. "Your highness, she just got here. At least wait until tomorrow." He didn't protest, but stood up and gave Karin a mischievous smile before whispering:  
"We'll pick up on this tomorrow, then, my pet."  
Karin shivered, flushed, and followed Mizore down the hall.

* * *

When Karin's things were unpacked in the dressers of her very large guest bedroom, Mizore took her into the bathroom to draw her a bath.

"Th-thank you," Karin said gratefully to her before she flushed, gripping the towel wrapped around her nude form and stepped into the hot water. She sighed before settling into the water.

"You're unlike other girls." Mizore said as she sat in a stool behind Karin to wash her hair. Karin, still getting used to this sort of thing, relaxed in the bath and let someone else do the work for her.

"Really?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"All of the offerings that come here aren't exactly shy or embarrassed, or obviously as beautiful as you. You also seem very kind."  
She felt her face grow warm again, "Thank you, Mizore-san." It was quiet for a moment.

"I couldn't help but overhear you're conversation... Have you met King Kazune before?"

Karin gave a long sigh, "Yes..." then, the rest of the time she was in the bath, she told Mizore all about the day she'd met him face to face 10 years ago.

Mizore washed the shampoo out of Karin's hair, silent.

"That's very saddening... You know, King Kazune has never told me the entire story of how his father had died. He usually... keeps things like that to himself."

Karin stared at her reflection in the water. So he was the type of person that kept sad things to himself? She wondered how a person could possibly do that... She always told her friends what was on her mind. "Never mind that, tell me more about you." Mizore quickly changed the subject and Karin began her story starting from her second home, how she'd grown up with her mother's sister for a guardian, how she'd become friends with Yuki, how she'd replaced herself for the offering.

Mizore sounded surprised, "You... came here at will?"  
Karin nodded and felt Mizore grab a towel to dry her hair. After that, Karin stood out of the bath and thankfully took another towel to dry off with from Mizore. They walked in her room once she was dry and Mizore handed Karin a pair of cute, frilly white knickers and a matching frilly nightgown that's sleeves drooped around her shoulders, revealing skin, and dropped down just before her knees.

Karin pulled the panties up her body and Mizore slid the nightgown over her head. The maid gestured over to a chair in front of a mirror and Karin sat in it, continuing her get-to-know-you conversation with her as Mizore ran a brush through her long, dirty blonde tresses.

"Your hair is very pretty – and the creamy white of the gown looks lovely against your skin, Miss Karin." Karin felt her cheeks flush as she silently thanked her.

"Well, it's about time you get ready for bed." Mizore smiled at Karin in the mirror, and she admired the cute, curly ponytails that Mizore had tied up with a white lace ribbon. At her back, her hair was down.

"Uh, um, thank you, Mizore-san . I hope we'll be great friends in the future."  
Mizore gave a small grin before grabbing Karin's shoulders and whispering in her her ear:

"Don't worry about tomorrow morning, I'll make sure to come to your rescue."  
Karin gulped as the maid pulled away and watched her bow before she left, closing the door behind her.

Turning off the light, Karin slid into the bedsheets and pulled the covers up to her chest, staring out the window at the dark sky.

A new moon.

* * *

Karin shifted, she felt someone hovering over her; but she was half asleep, she thought she may have been dreaming, but then her eyes shot open when she remembered where she was. Looking up, she met the Beast King's dark red eyes.

He gave her a lazy smirk before kissing her on her nose.

"Good morning, my pet..." Karin was about to struggle when a sudden force kept her still, and she knew it was his doing. It was a struggle to make a sound, too.

"Don't resist, It's not like I'm going to hurt you," he paused, thinking, then added, "Well... I might."

She glared up at him and he only smiled before grabbing both her legs and spreading them. Kazune pushed her nightgown up far, just under her breasts. Running his hands over Karin's stomach, he leaned down to kiss her on her neck.

"This looks cute on you," he said, regarding the underwear and gown. Karin shut her eyes tightly when his tongue slid across her neck sensually. "_Umm_, I.."

A hand suddenly slid up her body to slip under the cloth of her nightgown and roughly grabbed one of her breasts, causing her to mewl rather loudly. Another gasp escaped her lips when she felt Kazune bite down hard on her neck, but thankfully not hard enough to draw blood.

"St-stop, that h... hurts...!"

"Shhhh.." his finger traced across Karin's lips and she felt him suck on the new mark he'd made.

Then, suddenly, he pulled away, a blank look on his face.

"You said your name was Karin, right?"

Karin shot him a cold look and Mizore burst into the room, thankfully interrupting them.

Infuriated, she struggled and seemed to break the spell he'd put on her and wiggled out from under him again. He was frightening and foolish all at the same time, it made her angry. How could he just... do _that_ to her and then try and confirm what her name was? Did he do this to everyone?  
"Miss Karin," Mizore bowed, "Breakfast will be ready in a moment." she shot Kazune a glare and Karin saw him shiver. "Good morning, your highness." she regarded him coldly.

Karin pulled her gown down and pulled herself out of bed, stretching. Mizore left, thankfully with the door open. Karin reached up to the ceiling and stretched her arms, almost forgetting their was someone on the bed behind her.

She felt hands grab her hips from behind and was pulled backwards before she felt a kiss placed on her lower back.

"H-hey..!"  
"Just remember, little girl." Kazune whispered, his voice almost cold, "You will become mine one way or another. Mizore won't always be here to save you."  
Karin stiffened and the hands slipped away. The young King stood from the bed and walked out of the room, pausing on his way out the door to give her one of those sensual smiles of his.

Karin released the breath she'd been holding. Hopefully, that "time" wouldn't come soon.

Looking through her drawer of brand new clothes, Karin dressed in a red shirt with sleeves that also fell off her shoulders. The sleeves were medium in length, stopping just at her elbows.

Taking the white ribbons out of her hair, Karin used one of them to pull her hair up in a long ponytail with a large bow on top. Smiling at herself in the mirror, she opened the door to her room and stared down the long hallways.

She jogged a little to get to the stairs to see what the clamor was all about. Peeking behind the railing, I saw that dozens of maids were bustling here and there, cleaning, preparing, cooking.. taking care of their King.

"Miss Karin."

The voice made her jump and Karin whirled around to face Mizore, who was dressed in a white maid outfit today, a frilly white headband resting atop her head of short, crystal white hair.

"Oh, Good morning, Mizore-san."

A small smile crossed her face, "Good morning, Miss Karin. Breakfast is ready."  
Karin followed the beautiful maid down the hallway and down the stairs. She passed by a few maids that bowed to her and introduced themselves. Karin was disappointed that it was difficult for her to remember all of their names. Hopefully she'd get their names down in the next few days.

Mizore led Karin into the dining room, which was where a long, glistening white table that stretched from wall to wall in a large, open room sat. Karin chose one of the 32 seats, the one at the opposite end, and sat down. A few minutes later, maids came and went, leaving the table full of delicious foods and all kinds of random desserts and cheesecakes.

Karin beamed and was about to dig in when she remembered it might be rude to eat before the King got here-

Suddenly, all of the maids surrounding Karin for assistance bowed when Kazune walked into the dining room without a sound. Today, he was wearing a black chambray shirt with a white undershirt underneath, and a pair of white pants. His long braid of thick black hair was tied with white bands. He looked... pretty normal to Karin.

With a small glance at her, Kazune sat down in his seat and began to eat his breakfast. A maid walked over to pour him a drink and Karin stared down at her empty plate, and then she bit her lip before reaching for that cheesecake she'd had her eye on. She'd heard about cheesecakes before, but had never actually gotten any.

She reached for it, but a maid had already sliced her a thin layer and was setting it on her plate. Karin took her fork and slowly stabbed the cake, taking a piece of it and took a bite.

The cake was sweet and tasted like milk, fresh strawberries, and a hint of honey.

Karin slowly devoured the cake before taking a sip of her drink(which a maid had poured for her before she could open her mouth to ask) and reached for a small plate of sunny side up eggs. They were placed on her brand new plate immediately, and she ate this part of her meal rather quickly.

She felt herself smile at all these wonderful foods, and before she knew it, her appetite had increased and she'd devoured half of the foods from the table.

She flushed when she realized how much she'd eaten and heard a few of the maids giggling. She glanced up at Kazune, who had finished his meal early, and was watching her with interest.

"Th-thank you for the-"  
In mere seconds, the table was cleared and Karin was alone with the King.

"Well," Kazune said after an awkward silence, "You certainly do have an appetite. I was afraid you were going to eat my table."

Karin stood up and sat in the living room on a couch across from Kazune, her arms crossed and her anger flaring.

"_I was afraid you were going to eat my table_."

How could a person say that to a WOMAN? Did he know just how insulting that was to her? Well, of course, she ate a lot, food didn't come too easy in the Hanazono village, so she ate as little as possible to make sure everyone else got food. Those maids were practically begging her to eat as much as she wanted. She wasn't intending to be rude, she just... really loved all those desserts.

"Are you going to be angry at me all day, or are you going to forget about it and move on?"

Karin glared at the young king, who was sitting with his chin resting in his hand, a bored expression on his face. He looked at her for a moment before grinning.

Karin fought the urge to throw one of those gigantic pillows that belonged on the couch at him, but knew he'd either stop her before she did, or worse, decide he'd ….

_Ugh._

"I can stay angry at you all day, or you can just leave and I'll get over it."  
"Unfortunately, human, I have to be ready for school in 30 minutes."

Karin frowned, "You go to-"  
"Yes, my pet. _High school._"

She glared at him again before looking away and hugging a pillow to her chest tightly.

"Leave, then!" she regarded him coldly, almost regretting her words as he replied :

"So, my offering is angry at me. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

In a brief second, he was in front of her. Karin's eyes widened and her stomach churned. What was he..

Kazune grabbed the pillow from her hands and threw it out of the way, then rested his knee in between her legs. Karin leaned back in the couch, watching him with a frightened look as his eyed darkened to a dark scarlet color. His eyes practically bore into her soul as he watched her.

He smirked when he felt her tremble, and she was weak to stop him as he put both of his hands on either side of her and leaned in closer.

"I'll have to punish you for your harsh words..." his head lowered to her neck and she yelped when he bit down hard on the soft skin. She reached up to clutch his shirt, gritting her teeth through the pain.

"Ow, damn it, that hurts..!" she gripped his shirt when he bit down harder.

"Beg me to stop, then." he muttered. Karin shut her eyes.

"N-no! This isn't fair- Ahhh!" his hands lowered and his nails dug into her hips. She hissed and her grip on his shirt tightened again. She really didn't want to give in, but the more she resisted, the more pain she felt.

"All you have to do is beg."

"Alright! Fine! I'm sorry, please, please stop!" A moment later, he released his teeth from her skin and licked the brand new mark on her neck. Smiling as he pulled away, he went to sit back on his couch.

Karin's heart beat more steadily and she turned her head away from him.

"Your highness." a maid walked in the room and curtsied before the Beast King. "It's almost time for school."

Kazune sighed before running his fingers through his hair and standing up, he walked over to the staircase.

"I'll be getting ready, then.." he looked down at her, "So you'll be the owner of the house until I get back from school.. Take care of the house for me..." he paused, then added, "_Karin._"  
She glared up at him and watched him as he disappeared up the stairs.

So this was the man she was going to live with for a whole year.

Karin grimaced and snatching a pillow, buried her face in it and gave a long, purposely drawn out scream.

Would she _**really**_ be able to do this?


	3. Episode 2: Part 1

_**I decided to just keep the chapters as they were before . I'm sorry for being complicated. There are now 3 chapters and chapter 1 is back to normal and chapter 2 is what was taken back from it. Once again, I'm sorry for being dumb for that. :)**_

Karin sat with her knees pulled to her chest, flushed from what had taken place before with her so called "master." The way he called her his "pet" sounded absolutely dirty to her and she felt harassed in every way just by his looks.

He was dangerous indeed.

The floors creaked slightly and Karin heard footsteps. She looked at the staircase to her left to see that Kazune was walking back downstairs, maids and butlers accompanying him and carrying his things.

He shot a smug look at her as she looked him up and down. He looked quite handsome in his school uniform. The school colors were black and white.

Over a white chambray shirt, Kazune wore a long sleeved jacket with a black and white striped pattern. His tie matched the jacket and reached just above the waistband of his black pants. His long braid was tied neatly behind his back.

"Admiring me now, my pet?"

Karin flushed and shook her head frantically, grimacing.

"Don't be shy. You can compliment your master whenever you like."  
"You're going to be late. You should hurry." she stood up from the couch, still clutching the pillow.

Mizore appeared and opened the castle doors for the butlers and maids.

Kazune stepped toward Karin and held out his arms, "I deserve a good bye kiss, don't I?"  
Karin shielded her face with the pillow. "Y- Your other servants didn't do that, did they?"  
Kazune nodded, "Every day."

Karin flushed and lowered the pillow. It was just a kiss. He'd already stolen her first one, what was the difference in such a tiny kiss?

"A-Alright, just a little one..."

Kazune hooked a finger under her chin and leaned in. Karin shut her eyes tightly, waiting for his lips to press against hers, but she heard a sigh as he kissed her nose instead.

Her heart started pounding and she opened her eyes to a smirking Kazune.

"This will be _complicated_. You're just too innocent."

Karin wasn't sure if she should protest or agree. Kazune pulled away before she did and followed his maids out of the door.

"Good bye, my pet! I'll be home soon. Hope you don't have separation anxiety."

Karin grimaced and fought the urge to throw the nearest object at him.

"You're the Queen of the castle while I'm gone." he said before the door closed behind him.

Mizore bowed once again before smiling at Karin.

"Silly. It was just a kiss."

"B-But, Mizore, it's embarrassing. I mean, I'll feel like some housewife saying good bye to my husband."  
Mizore raised an eyebrow, "Well, you kind of are-"  
Karin cut her off, waving her hands frantically, her face on fire, "No, no, no. Let's skip to another subject."  
Mizore put a finger to her lips, thinking, "Hmmm... well... what do you want to do?"  
Karin hadn't thought about that, "Hummm. I think... I think I'd like to see around the castle." She should at least get to know the place if she was going to be here for a whole year, right? And she'd know where the good hiding places would be, too...  
A smile crossed Mizore's lips and she grabbed Karin's wrist, pulling her upstairs.

"What would you like to see?"

It was more of a rhetorical question, because the next thing Karin knew, she was being shown to the guest rooms, oddly themed bathrooms, the library, the Prince's offices, the gym, romantic themed bedrooms (which made Karin blush and feel uncomfortable), entertainment rooms, and all kinds of really pretty places. It was around noon when they had stopped for a break.

Mizore gave a sigh before running to the kitchen and calling, "Let's go ahead and prepare lunch for Miss Karin!"

The living room flooded with maids, some heading to the kitchen, some crowding around Karin and asking what she would like to eat for lunch.

"Uh... um... anything you have...?" She was starved, even if she knew they would prepare literally everything they had in the kitchen.

Moments later, Karin was sitting at the full table, slowly devouring all of the food they'd given her. First she started with the soup, then the fish, the chicken, beef, rice...

Then she ate the desserts, ice cream with sprinkles, crepes, cheesecake, cookies...

Sitting back in her chair, Karin watched the left overs be taken away by the maids and Mizore walked in, stretching.

"Well, I've finished all my work for the hour... There's one place I didn't get to show you."

* * *

"Mizore-san, are you sure...?"

"Yeah! It'll look so cute, I know it will!"

Karin flushed and covered up her new revealing black bikini. It didn't seem to hold her breasts correctly, and she was afraid the ties on the side would slip off at any moment.

"Come on, Miss Karin.."

Karin opened her bedroom door and looked down at the ground as Mizore scanned her all over.

"Oh, you're so cute... Oh my, what if Kazune-sama saw you wearing that?!" Mizore shook her head, her straight white hair bouncing.

Karin covered herself with her towel and Mizore grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hallway.

"You know how to swim, right?" Mizore asked. Karin nodded.

"Yes."  
"Good, cause, I'm not really used to giving swimming lessons."

Karin felt a small smile cross her lips, "It's just us going to the pool, right?"

"Of course. Kazune-sama only lets me and a few others go from time to time cause it's one of his favorite spots."  
"Ah."  
"Anyway, let's hurry before he get's home. You're a bit too cute right now."

Mizore pulled her down further down the hallway, down the flight of stairs, and finally, to the indoor pool.

The floor was covered in a smooth marble, and the pool – shaped like a square with baby blue water- was surrounded by relaxing chairs.

"Wow... I've never been in an actual pool before - every one at the village usually just swims in the lake.."  
"Well, you should like pools, then." Mizore smirked and surprised Karin by letting her go and running across the marble floor to jump into the pool.

Karin giggled as the water flew up to splash her and Mizore resurfaced minutes later.

"Come in, the water's fine!"

Karin dropped her towel and went to join her.

* * *

"Ahhhh.. I'm beat..." Karin leaned her head against the edge of the pool, panting.

Mizore rested her chin in her hands, leaning her elbow against the edge, too.

"Oh!" Mizore suddenly climbed out of the pool and snatched Karin's towel by accident, wrapping it around herself, "King Kazune could be here any minute – Oh, I'm probably so behind ! Damn!"

Before Karin could ask Mizore for another towel, she was gone.

Karin blinked before sitting back in the pool and sighing.

"I guess I should probably get out, too." her voice echoed throughout the quiet, marble room.

Karin gripped the edges of the ground to pull herself out of the pool. Once out, she shivered from the cold – it was freezing. She looked around, but there was no sign of any kind of cloth to cover up with.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Karin stepped into the hallway.

"Unghh..." it was even colder out in the normal room temperature... She bit her lip and in short, quick steps, was about to walk back to her bed room so she could get new clothes and take a bath when she spotted a room with a door she had never seen before – up on the top floor.

Maybe Mizore had forgotten to show her?

Or maybe she didn't care much about it?

Karin's curiosity got the best of her as she passed by her bedroom door and walked up the last flight of stairs.

The room drew nearer. She opened the door slowly, quietly. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt like she was sneaking. Was it rude of her to be snooping like this because Mizore had already shown her around?

She pushed the guilty feeling aside and closed the door halfway behind her.

The room room was lit up by a fire and was more like a study. Shelves were leaned up against the walls, and a couch was placed in the middle of the pure white carpet.

What really caught her eye was the rose placed inside a locked box on a desk at the far end of the room.

Karin took hesitant steps forward.

The rose was pretty and tall. It's petals were a dark familiar red, similar to King Kazune's eyes. There were no thorns on it, either.

Karin cocked her head to the side, examining it as she got closer. It intrigued her for some reason.

She wanted to touch it. Why was it sitting inside of a locked box? That shouldn't be healthy for the plant, should it?

Karin reached out toward it, to touch the glass when a harsh, familiar voice interrupted her.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

Whirling around, she gasped.

Kazune was staring at her from across the room. She'd never seen him look so angry before – his ruby eyes held flames in them.

Karin pressed herself closer to the desk. Her eyes widened in horror.

"I- I was just... .I didn't mean to-"

Kazune stepped toward her, and Karin flinched. The table moved and the glass holding the rose wobbled.

Kazune reached out toward it and darted over in time to stop it's wobbling.

They both let out relieved sighs, but moments later, Kazune's eyes flickered over to her again.

"I'm sorry, I was only trying to-"  
Before she could say anything, Kazune grabbed her and lifted her onto his shoulder. He carried her out of the room so quickly, it made her head spin. He shut the door behind him and carried her upstairs to his room.

Throwing her on the bed, Kazune crawled on top of her before she could escape.

He glared down into her wide, emerald eyes.

"Please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"  
"Who let you in that room?" he asked.

"No one, I let myself in, it wasn't locked, I was just curious..."

His expression only softened a little before he suddenly realized what she was wearing.

He placed a hand on her cheek. Karin wanted to moan... his hand was warm and felt nice against her. She seemed to remember she had just run out of the pool without a towel and hadn't had time to dry off.

"My guess is you've just gone out of the indoor pool?" his hand trailed down to her neck.

Karin bit back a contented sigh, "Y-Yes.."

"Did Mizore forget your towel?"

She nodded slowly.

"Are you cold..? It's not good to run around the house in something so revealing." his eyes darkened as he scanned her body.

Karin nodded again and squirmed a little, "I... I should go take a bath, then..."

Kazune held her hips in place, "No... I'll warm you up myself."

With that, he untied her bikini at the back and Karin panted heavily as he placed kisses on the top of her breasts.

Flushed, she tried to push him off, embarrassed as her bikini dropped from her chest.

"St-stop.."

He ignored her and used his magic to paralyze her like that morning.

"Ahh.. ahh.." Kazune placed a hot trail of kissed down the valley in between her breasts and found she was very sensitive there. Karin threw her head back when Kazune placed his hands on one of her mounds and she arched her back into his hand.

Shifting, Kazune untied the sides of her underwear and Karin's eyes shot open.

She stared down at him.

"T-this has gone far enough..." Kazune licked the sensitive peaks of her breasts and Karin moaned rather loudly. She reached up to place her hands over her mouth.

Karin felt the ties on her underwear unraveling when Mizore passed by, "I'll get the bath ready, then."  
"Dammit, Mizore!" Kazune stopped his warm caresses on Karin to glare at her, but Mizore was already gone. Karin grabbed her bikini top and covered her chest. She managed to slip out from under neath him, but Kazune grabbed hold of her and pulled her to him again, this time, she was in between his legs and he was hugging her from behind.

"I'll have you one day, so you better prepare yourself."

Then he let her go. Karin's cheeks were burning as she raced out of the room to catch up with Mizore.


	4. Episode 2 : Part 2

Karin sat at the long, wide table in the dining room and occasionally glanced across the table of food _she_ would never be able to finish to stare at Kazune's profile.

His deep ruby eyes were gazing out of the window next to the table and he was resting his chin in one of his palms. His brows were furrowed and his lips were a thin line, making him look upset.

He probably was. After all, Karin _had_ barged into a sacred room inside the castle without asking.

The atmosphere had been so off with just one upset person in the house. Karin was constantly shifting in her seat and hadn't even touched her full plate of food.

Her appetite was gone and there was a giant, uncomfortable knot in her stomach. She was confident that if she even took a bite of her food, it would come back up.

A few maids had began peeking into the dining room, curious as to why the both of them weren't eating. One ran to tell Mizore and Mizore waved Karin over into the busy kitchen.

Relieved she had been given a reason to leave, Karin stood abruptly, making Kazune blink out of his trance to stare at her questioningly.

"E...Excuse me. I need to speak with someone in the kitchen." With that, she lowered her head and ran across the room and into the kitchen. The maids returned to their work and Karin practically slammed the door shut.

The sickly feeling in her stomach that was slowly consuming her whole body had barely gone, but she was glad it was just a little. She pressed her back against the door and Mizore ran over.

"What's wrong?" Mizore asked, her face revealing her worry, " Are you sick?"

"I... think I might be... I don't feel so good..." Karin held her stomach and Mizore placed a hand on her forehead.

"Hmm, you don't have a fever... what happened between you two? This is the first time I've seen him like this."

Karin flushed and stood up straight, "I.. I wandered into one of his personal rooms.."

Mizore froze and glanced behind her at the busily working maids, cautious of them hearing their conversation.

"Please tell me you did not go into the one with his rose in it..." she closed her eyes and bit her lip.

Karin looked away, ashamed, "...mm hmm, that's the one..."  
Mizore sighed, "Goodness! You must never, ever, ever, ever, EVER, go into that room! Again! Understand?"

"Yes, but why?"

"I'm not the one who should tell you." Mizore cracked open the kitchen door to glance out at Kazune.

She closed the door and looked back at Karin, who was slightly frustrated that there was a secret being kept from her.

"Wait a second... he's upset with you." Mizore frowned and glanced at Karin.

"Umm... yeah, that's to be expected."  
"No, but... aren't you feeling strange on the inside? Like you're sick?"

Karin nodded slowly, "Yes, but why...?"

"Ah!" Mizore's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "You're more special than I thought!"  
Karin cocked her head, "Special? How?"

"You can sense his emotions! You're feeling sick because he's upset with you over something major. The only way you can get rid of this feeling if you get him in a better mood."

Karin blushed, "I can sense his emotions? But why am I feeling like this because he's upset with me?"  
"Well, think about it. You don't want to get on his bad side, do you?"  
"Uh... definitely no."

"Then.. figure out a way for him to get in a happier mood."

"And how am I going to do that?!" Karin's heart pounded, thinking embarrassing thoughts.

Mizore smiled, "Something simple. Maybe ask him more about himself, try cooking him something, kissing him, maybe, getting a make over and asking him what he thinks.."  
"Bu.. but that's something a girl would do for her boyfriend, isn't it?!"

"Well.. yeah."

"_Mizore..!"_

"Calm down, okay, we'll take this slowly... And... you're on!"

Without another word, Mizore shoved Karin outside the kitchen and back into the dining room.

Kazune turned to look at her. Karin flushed and she twisted around to claw and bang at the door to go back inside.

"Ummm, is something the matter...?" Kazune asked from behind her.

Karin stopped and turned toward him, feeling shy. The sick feeling returned.

_What the heck am I going to do?!_

"Umm, Kazune, you see... I... I need... to make you.. happy...?"  
Her words came out more awkward than she expected. Kazune blinked, and for a moment, she felt the mood lighten.

"_What_?"

"Ah, that came out weird, you see, I know you were mad at me for earlier, but I can't... I can't sit down and stay still until you say you're not mad at me anymore, and Mizore says that's because I can sense your emotions, but I can't settle down, it's driving me crazy, please don't be mad at me anymore, I actually hate it when people are mad at me, it's not because I can sense your emotions, but other than that, it makes me even more upset-"

Kazune's eyes widened in shock and he stood up from the table. Karin backed away as he approached.

"Hold on, what are you-"

He didn't stop walking until he was pressing her against the wall with his body, resting a hand on the wall next to her head. He took her hand and kissed her palm. Karin saw his expression soften as he searched her eyes and her cheeks warmed.

Looking at her with rather soft ruby eyes, he asked, "Do you know what I'm feeling now, my pet?"

The sick feeling disappeared as Karin peered into his lovely eyes. What she felt now were all kinds of intense, passionate, and wild feelings emanating from him.

Lust, joy, excitement...

Whatever they were, Karin couldn't describe them, but they were all positive feelings that made her heart pound in excitedly. Her body felt warm and her mood lightened.

"...well..?" he whispered, letting go of her hand to touch her cheek.

"Y..yes..." she finally stammered.

"Amazing... I never thought you'd be this special – to sense my emotions... that's extraordinary.."

Karin blushed, feeling somewhat flattered. Kazune pushed her hair our of her face looked at her lips, licking his own.

"Uh... um-"

"You poor thing. You must have been pretty bored home alone today, should I entertain you..?" his eyes gleamed and Karin froze.

"I.. I was fine, Mizore took care of me, so..."  
"Mizore can't do what I can for you, love." he whispered seductively, leaning forward in an attempt to capture her tempting lips when Mizore pushed open the door.

"Oh ~ Silly me! I didn't know you guys were standing there!"

Karin and Kazune fell to the floor, Karin falling on top of him by accident.

"Y..you're kind of heavy.." Kazune winced and Karin blushed.

"Sorry!" she quickly climbed off his lap and Kazune glared at Mizore.  
"You bitch!" he shouted, "How long are you going to try and keep this up?! I can do whatever I want with my servants!"

Mizore smirked, "I'm being honest, really I am, I didn't know you guys were standing directly in front of the door.."

While Kazune continued yelling at Mizore for "interrupting" us, Karin started to laugh, but she didn't know why.

Kazune stopped yelling at a bored Mizore and the both of them turned to look at her, blinking in confusion.

"Wh.. why are you laughing?" Kazune asked Karin, who blushed and shook her head.

"It... it's nothing, it's just.. you two look so silly arguing like that.."  
Kazune frowned and Mizore sighed.

"You have such an innocent mind, don't you? Which is why I'm not letting your highness here corrupt it!"

"But _whyyyyyyyyyy_...?!"

_**Ding.. dong...**_

The doorbell echoed through the huge house. Karin stood up from the ground and Mizore ran to get the door, which was only a room away.

"I wonder who that could be...?" Kazune stood up and sided next to Karin.

"Ahh- what a surprise!" the both of them heard Mizore giggle.

Karin and Kazune made their way into the living room to see who had arrived at the castle when Kazune stopped dead in his tracks, causing Karin to crash into him before she could see anything.

"Your highness...?" Karin asked.

Kazune twisted around to face her and grabbed her shoulders, a cautious look on his face. He looked scared.

"Get upstairs – now." he said in a hushed voice, pushing her.

Karin frowned, "But why would I-"

"Just go-"  
"I'm back, my adorable little cousin!" A man's voice rang out through the castle, bright and cheerful.

Kazune shivered, "_Quickly_!"

"Is that you I hear in the kitchen? Oooh, Mizore, something smells niiice... Like-"

"Damn!" Kazune grabbed Karin's hand and raced out of the living room, pulling her forcefully along.

"Ow! That hurts!" Karin shouted. Kazune turned to glare at her for not keeping her voice down when she heard a gasp from behind her in the other room.

"That smells like a.."

Karin heard Mizore gasp, as if coming to a sudden realization, and heard her frightened voice as she tried to convince the guest to stay in the room for a moment.

".._human_."

Karin and Kazune had barely gotten to the next room when she felt someone behind her.

An arm wrapped around her, stopping both her and Kazune in their tracks.

"Micchi, no!" she heard Mizore yell.

Karin turned to whoever had pulled her close to his warm, tall figure and looked up into the face of a man that made her heart skip a beat.

The man looked to be in his late teens, probably very early twenties, with a gorgeous, youthful, pale skinned, chiseled - featured face. His eyes – of opposite colors, were beautiful shades of softamethyst and icy sapphire.

His hair hung in orange/red curls that framed his face and hung down his back.

He was dressed in the school uniform Kazune had been wearing earlier.

Karin felt a negative aura coming from him and her body ran cold. Her stomach twisting in knots, she froze in place and her eyes peered up at him.

A sinister smile crossed his lips as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"It _is_ a human!" his eyes darkened.

Karin felt her body tremble, everything in her body screaming that she should get away now, but his tightening grip on her body left her helpless.

"Micchi," Kazune voice rang out behind her, "Let her go _right now_."  
Micchi's smiled widened, and, not taking his eyes off of Karin, said to Kazune, "What? I haven't even done anything yet."

The room went quiet and she felt Kazune's grip tightened on her wrist. She wished he would just pull her away already. Micchi was looking at her like she was some kind of snack and he hadn't eaten in days.

"Oh, but she does look delicious."

Before she could even blink, Micchi snatched her arm away from Kazune's, threw her over his shoulder, and raced out of the castle with her.

"Aaaaaaaaughhhh!" Karin screamed and made eye contact with Mizore and Kazune, who hadn't even realized what had happened yet. In fact, it was as if time had frozen.

Her head spinning from the quick, impossible speed Micchi was running, Karin managed to hear the wild, triumphant laughing of her kidnapper.


	5. Episode 3 : Part 1

When Micchi stopped running, he released his grip around her waist so he could use both hands to climb atop a mountain. Karin had gotten dizzy during their very quick journey about 40 miles away from the castle and had passed out. Micchi smirked, looking at her still form out of the corner of his eye. Carefully laying her down once he reached the very top of the tall land form, he paced back and forth, thinking.

What exactly was he going to do with her?  
He himself didn't know. It was most likely Mizore and Kazune had thought he was kidnapping her to try and eat her, but Micchi had learned a lot at his school in London about how to restrain himself from devouring humans when coming in contact. They'd probably forgotten.

Micchi knew this human Kazune was trying to protect had been very special - his younger cousin had tensed when he'd only looked at her.

Micchi glanced down at her, thinking.

"Could you be..." he thought back to what his father had told him about finding mates when he was little.

"Hmm...Dad told me I'd know when I saw her.." he thought out loud, "But it would be harder for Kazune sense he was born with the Legendary Wolf Curse...Maybe you really are his destined mate..!"

Micchi beamed, knowing his cousin's curse would be gone in the future and that he'd finally found someone that was born just for this purpose.

Micchi had actually been aware of this when he'd looked into her eyes.

There was just something about her that was very unusual for an ordinary human to have.

Micchi stopped smiling and smirked again, knowing his cousin and Mizore were probably having a fit about him taking her out of the house like that.

"Ooops, bet their on their way right now..." he laughed, "I guess I better wake you up."

Micchi reached toward the human girl when he picked up another scent. It wasn't Karin's, but the smell of another werewolf. It was a familiar scent, but it wasn't one he was used to.

He hissed and threw himself over the human's body, shielding her as he glanced around for any suspicious figures. When he finally found what he was looking for, his stomach twisted. Glaring down at him with cold, frost blue eyes were three horse-sized werewolves. They stood on the edge of a mountain about 40 feet higher.

The werewolves stopped to let a cool breeze blow through their beautiful crystal white fur, closing their eyes. Micchi stayed still, narrowing his eyes and trying to identify them. They certainly weren't from his pack, being ice wolves.

They were much too _perfect_, anyway.

He stared at them for a moment longer, and they opened their eyes to stare back.

Another silent, still moment passed before the wolves let out snarls and barked in laughter. Micchi pulled himself to his feet, his fierce expression turning into confusion. One of the three wolves gave Micchi one of their sinister smiles.

The familiar smile gave away the wolves' identity. He put on a fake smile and the ice wolf stopped smiling.

"Great to see you guys again." Micchi lied. He glanced behind him. In the distance, he could see Mizore and Kazune running toward the mountain. He turned back around.

The ice werewolves were gone – nowhere in sight.

When Micchi turned back around, he became face to face with Kazune.

Yelping, Micchi scrambled backward and cowered to the ground.

"K-Kazune-chan!" his eyes widened at the sight of his angry younger cousin.

Kazune growled low in his throat and narrowed his burning red eyes at Micchi, who was frightened enough already. Mizore rushed over to Karin, pulling her head in her lap.

"Karin-sama? Karin-sama, wake up! Micchi, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing, I swear! I just wanted to ask her some questions, observe her a little, maybe, I wasn't going to eat her or anything like that!"

"Why would you take her out of the house?! She's _mine_! If you wanted to ask her some of your stupid questions, you could have just sat down with her! Now look what you did! She's a human, you idiot! It's not safe for her to be out of the house!"

Micchi pouted, "Is that anyway to speak to your cousin that you haven't seen for almost a whole year?"

Kazune grabbed Micchi by his shirt collar and pulled him up to look at him face to face.

"Shut up unless you want me to kill you. What if another werewolf caught her human scent?"

Micchi smiled nervously, "It's funny you say that..."  
Kazune raised an eyebrow, "Funny? What are you saying?"

"I think I saw Yuki, Neuge, and Setsuko..."

Kazune let go of Micchi's shirt, causing the moronic teenager to fall to his hands and knees, while the Werewolf Demon King ran his fingers through his hair and began to sweat drop. He was more than angry, but also scared for his "pet."

"How could you be so stupid... they probably know what she is... can't believe you would...she could be...you know they've always hated us..." Kazune began to mutter to himself, closing his eyes in frustration.

Micchi glanced at Karin out of the corner of his eye. Mizore's attempts to wake her were successful. Karin groaned before shifting.

"Ugh. What were my sisters doing here in the first place

"So dizzy..."

Micchi glanced over at Kazune, paying close attention to the fact that his face had softened at the sight of her. He watched his cousin walk over to her slowly and bend down to brush the human girl's hair out of her face.

"Are you alright, my pet?" he asked. Micchi heard him sigh in relief.

Karin opened her bright evergreen eyes, but closed them again, she reached up to clutch her head.

"Ugh.. I'm dizzy and I have a headache... ahhh..."  
"Give her to me." Kazune demanded. Mizore gave her own sigh of relief before handing Karin over to Kazune, who wrapped his arms under her back and legs, and lifting her as he stood.

"I'm taking her back home. Come, Mizore."  
Mizore stood up, pushed a lock of her crystal white hair behind her ear, and climbed down the mountain with Kazune.

Micchi pouted, jumped to his feet, and screamed, "AREN'T YOU GOING TO ASK ME TO COME BACK WITH YOU GUYS?!"

"Nah. I figured someone like you would just follow without being asked."

"YOU'RE SO MEAN!"

* * *

_**1 hour later...**_

One of Kazune's maids handed Karin a glass of water and she sighed, "Thank you."

"Feeling any better, my pet?"

Karin blushed and looked over at her right bedside at Kazune, who was standing with his arms crossed.

"Ah, yeah, I feel fine. I told you I was earlier, you didn't have to pamper me like that." she motioned toward her new gown and her hair that had been put up and styled. For an entire hour, the maids had been giving her snacks or drinks or medicine, even though she had just been VERY dizzy.

Kazune smiled, "It's not like that. I just need to make sure you're feeling well and at attention for... _certain things_."

Karin felt her entire face turn red with embarrassment, but she glared up at her "owner."  
"What the... certain things? What are you talking about, you pervert?"

Micchi appeared and leaned against the door frame, "Knock knock."

Kazune didn't even bother to turn around, "Go away, stupid."

Micchi's shoulders slumped and he stuck out his lower lip, "You're so mean! Even though I came to apologize to Karin-chan..."  
Karin looked over at Micchi and smiled softly, shifting in her bed a little.

"Ah, hello... I don't think we've actually been able to meet each other...I'm Karin Hanazono, and-"

In the blink of an eye, Micchi was at her bedside, grabbing her small hands in his and staring at her with sparkling eyes.

"Ah! You're cuter when you're conscious! We're going to be good friends, I just know it-"

Kazune slapped his hands away, "Let go you pervert."

Karin bit back a laugh and rolled her eyes.

"It's great to meet you, Karin-chan! I'm Micchi Nishikiori, Kazune's older cousin." he put on a bright smile. Karin smiled again.

"It's great to meet one of Kazune's relatives."

Micchi's eyes widened at the sight of Karin's adorable smile. Without another word, he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"She's so CUTE, Kazune-chan! How dare you keep such a beauty from me!"  
"Why wouldn't I? You're a creep, Micchi."  
Micchi froze and his aura became more sullen. Karin blinked and he tore himself away from her and sat in the corner of the bedroom, his knees pulled to his chest.

"Ah... I see... I didn't realize I was so... weird.." he said in a sad, depressing tone.

Karin threw her covers off of herself and ran over to comfort him.

"I.. it's okay, Micchi-san, I don't think you're creepy... you actually seem like a really sweet, gentle person-"

Micchi beamed and twisted around to kiss Karin on her cheek. The action surprised her and her face began to burn red.

"Hey!" Kazune stepped toward them and the maids surrounding the room waiting for commands giggled. Mizore stood in front of Kazune.

"Don't kill him. He hasn't even told us why he's here yet."  
Micchi pulled away from Karin, "Oh, yeah...

* * *

Karin sipped her tea quietly as Micchi explained in the shortest way possible why he was at the mansion.

"Well... I already graduated from the middle school in England, and mother had to go to New York because she's gotten a promotion, so she said to just come here and stay with you. I'm already enrolled in your High School."

Karin and Mizore glanced over at Kazune, who was sitting on the couch across from them next to Micchi.

The teenage King looked more than annoyed.

"Geez, my relatives are so dumb... how can my aunt just dump you on me like that? And you're already in my school? Can't you live somewhere else?"

Micchi sighed, "I knew you would say something like that. The thought of us living in the same house wasn't so appealing to me, either, but you know she can't be told otherwise when she's made up her mind. Before she even told me about this whole thing, she'd bought me a plane ticket. She even ordered my uniforms but sent them to this address so I'd get it around the time I arrived."

The doorbell rang and a maid ran to answer it. A post man handed her a large box and Micchi knew it was probably for him.

Kazune called a few maids over to take Micchi's luggage and unpack them in the drawers in a guest room.

"I guess I can't do anything about this, unfortunately. Having another housemate isn't that much of a thrill, but I don't have a choice. I'm already an hour late for school, thanks to you, so hurry up and get changed. You can just start school today." he stood up and Micchi followed him upstairs.

Karin glanced over at Mizore, sighing.

"It'll just be you, me, and the maids again. What should we do today?"

* * *

_**Later that day...**_

"Ahhh..." Karin lay back in the field she and Mizore had been gardening in and took off her gloves.

"Well, that was fun," Mizore smiled softly and decided to lie down herself, "You're pretty good at gardening, aren't you? We were able to plant so many."

"But you have so many maids, I'd think the work was easier since there's just the two of us."

"Well, gardening isn't exactly a weekly chore we maids have. I'm the only one that actually does it. The other maids wouldn't bother, since I put spells on the flowers."

"Spells?" Karin turned to look at her.

"Mm. The flowers are basically a protective barrier."

"Ah... that's cool..." Karin smiled, "What else?"  
"They let us know if someone dangerous is near. They can see everything."

"That sounds amazing. You can cast a spell to do all that?"  
Mizore flushed with pride, "Yeah. I feel so special with you complementing me on all of these tasks I usually just wish to get over with in the castle. It's like everything has a purpose with you living here now."

Karin sighed in content, putting her hand in the air to cover her face from the sun's bright light.

A moment of silence passed before something from earlier made her curious.

"Hey, Mizore.."

"Yes, Karin-sama?"

Karin sat up and glanced over at her. "I can only remember fragments of what happened when you guys met up with Micchi and came to take me back from the mountain... but... Who are Yuki, Setsuko, and Neuge?"

This question caught Mizore by surprise and her eyes widened slightly in shock before her expression darkened.

"No one."

"_Mizore._"

"Do you have to know _everything_?"

"I don't mean to be a pain, but it'll continue making me curious!"  
"Fine. They're my sisters."

"You're sisters?"

"Yeah. Is that all you need to know?"

"No. I need to know more. Why haven't you spoken about your family outside of the castle?"

Mizore sat up quickly and glared fiercely down at Karin.

"They are _not_ my family." she hissed.

Karin looked up at her upset looking friend, "Mizore...?"

"Sorry. I don't think I'm ready to speak about it." Mizore stood up, gathered the last of the flower seeds and the gardening tools, and walked back toward the castle.

Karin sat up, staring at her as she walked away.

"Another secret that I won't know about for a while,"she sighed and stood up. Couldn't they trust her? Why was everything so secretive around here?

Karin walked slowly back to the castle, following after Mizore.

"I guess it will only take time."


	6. Episdoe 3 : Part 2

The next morning, dozens of questions were swarming around in Karin's mind, just begging to be answered one way or another.

Karin was usually a pretty curious person, especially if she wasn't able to get the truth out of someone when she was positive it would take time. The fact that this mansion had secrets she wasn't trusted enough to be told about frustrated her.

When Mizore had said "I don't think I'm ready to speak about it," did she really mean, "I don't think I can trust you just yet?"

What was so precious about that rose that the King left it in it's own locked room?

Who were Mizore's family members?

Why did she seem to hate them so much that she_ hissed_ they weren't her family? Certainly, she didn't mean that, did she?

_Maybe she's just really angry at something they'd done._

That must have been it. If they apologized, maybe Mizore would be able to talk about them.

Hmph. It was an idea, but Karin wasn't sure when she'd get to meet them.

Another question nagged at her mind. It made her heart ache.

_How is my village doing?What about my sweet Yuki?_

Surely, Yuki was angry at Karin, probably devastated she had made the decision to leave him to be someone's concubine.

Still, Karin was not sure she regretted her decision. Though she still had to dodge Kazune here and there, the mansion was still very lively with young, kind, helpful maids like Mizore who loved speaking with Karin, or working to get to know her. Also, she was sure she would meet new people and make friends with others like Micchi.

Sometimes, Kazune was a sex hungry beast who would literally snatch her and carry her to his room, only to be interrupted by Mizore, and other times he was a protective, kind person with gentle eyes.

He definitely didn't seem at all what Karin had thought in the beginning.

She wasn't that scared of him any more, that was a proven fact...

However, she still had to know what this "heat" thing Mizore kept warning her about would mean for her when it happened to Kazune.

A knock came on the porcelain white door, finally pulling Karin out of her thoughts.

"Karin-sama? We're preparing breakfast."

Karin pulled herself out of bed and turned to quickly smooth out the comforter and set her pillows back in order.

"Um, okay. I'll be down in 10 minutes, is that okay?"

She still had so much to do before she left her bedroom. She knew she didn't exactly look her best in the mornings.

"Of course. Take all the time you need. If you're going to wash up, would you like me to assist y-"

"- yes, yes! I need help! _Sure_!" Karin grinned.

If she was lucky, she would be able to get at least a few words out of Mizore about her family.

Mizore lifted the wooden bucket of warm water of Karin's silky wet hair and heard Karin give another sigh.

Reaching forward to wring out her hair, Mizore asked, "Karin-sama. You seem frustrated about something."

Mizore had noticed Karin was very talkative this morning, telling her all about her own family and how she was raised, she even told her about her friends and her life in the village. It was as if she was hinting for Mizore to tell _her_ something.

"And well, my best friend's name is Yuki. He's the only boy in the village who's my age. At least, I think.. you know, he always lied about his age, it was so annoying..."

Being the blunt person she usually is, Mizore decided to just ask about it.

"Karin-sama, are you trying to get me to tell you about my family?"

The young woman who had been chatting endlessly in the bathtub for 2 minutes straight finally stopped talking. Mizore let out a sigh when Karin turned to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't want to talk about it... I'm such a horrible person, aren't I? I didn't mean to upset you! Let's just forget it! Yeah, it never happened! This whole time... we.. we were talking about our favorite foods!"

Karin quickly stood out of the bath to bow to her friend in apology.

Mizore smiled softly, "I'm the one that's sorry. Please do not suggest I don't trust you, it's just that... It's not something I'd like to fill your mind with... I couldn't bear to see you sad when you're always smiling, lighting up the castle.."

Karin felt a light blush cross her cheeks, "Thank you for being considerate, then."

_Pooo... this doesn't satisfy me at all..._

_}{_

Later that day, when Karin was exploring the castle for any mysterious passageways, her mind began to flood of more questions to be answered.

"Mizore..."

"Yes, Karin-sama?" Mizore finished dusting the table in the living room and turned around to face Karin.

Karin sat back on the couch and sighed, "Why can't I go to Kazune's school with him?"

Mizore took a deep breath. "Well... it's a school for mutant beings.. like monsters."  
"Monsters...?" Karin sat up, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"You know... like ghosts and vampires and pixies and witches... The list goes on."  
"Oh..." Karin remembered her mother had told her stories about things like that and that they were very much real, but she didn't expect them to a be so close to her village..

"...and you being a human wouldn't really make you safe in a place like that. Most of the mutants need human blood for something – whether it's for consuming or spells, they'll do anything to get their hands on it."

Karin bit her lip and let out a sigh, "So that's it.."

"Mmm.. Although, it would be about, 10 times worse because you're giving off such a beautiful scent."  
Karin raised a brow, "Huh?"  
"You may be the one that's supposed to break the King's curse, but you still give off a floral scent of innocence. Monsters are able to identify a human by their scent, but... we're not exactly positive you're completely human. You're very special being, actually."  
"Special? How?"  
Mizore sighed, "There's a story. It's the story of a curse that began a long, long time ago. When werewolves first started breeding."

_When they first started breeding...?!_

"The curse may enhance the powers of the being it took over, but it is still a curse. No one knows what the curse really is, but it can be broken. The angel, the one that is born to break the curse, is the only one said to find out what the curse really is."

"Angel?" Karin asked.

"Yes. You're Kazune's angel. Once you find out what the curse is, your going to have to figure out how to break it."  
"I could give you the book sometime. It's here in this castle."  
"It is?" Karin gasped, "Where? I think I need to read it."  
"Of course you do." Mizore laughed, "But... Kazune-sama hid it from me... looks like you have some exploring to do."

Karin felt herself beaming, "Right."  
Mizore stood up to take a glass of water to the kitchen, "The best time to start looking is while Kazune-sama is at school."

"Okay!" Excited she'd get to do some exploring, Karin headed up the long flight of stairs. That's when Kazune passed by, dressed in his school uniform. They both stopped walking for a moment, and stared at eachother.

"You missed breakfast." Karin said, looking away.

Kazune adjusted his tie, "It's fine. Not like I'm going to die, or something."  
"But it's still a very important meal!" Karin looked at him in disbelief.

"I had to study and get ready. What's your deal?"  
"I don't have a deal! I'm just saying you should-"

"_Goodbye_, my pet. I hope you don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." Kazune rolled his eyes and took a step down the stairs.

But then he turned around with a serious look on his face.

"Don't go near that room again. Or you'll be punished."  
Karin crossed her arms, desperately wanting to shoo him away with a rude comment, but she probably would have gotten punished for that, too.

"Alright. Have a safe trip." she muttered before turning to continue upstairs. She heard Kazune announce he was leaving, and then Micchi quickly said goodbye before he sped after him.

Karin walked silently up and down the hallways, wondering where to start looking for her book.

**Author's Note : Yeah, it's a short chapter, but it's packed with enough information. The next should be really long because Karin will be searching all around the house for the book! Yippie! Stay tuned!**

**Oh, by the way, you may have noticed my updates have slowed down a little... I've been focusing on "My Shooting Star" for a while now. But, since school's out, you'll see frequent updates from me!**


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